Im pretty sure theres some sort of breach of the Trades Descriptions Act going on here. If a movie tags itself as a thriller, isnt it actually supposed to be thrilling at one point or another? The Clearing, sadly, is about as thrilling as a tea-soaked Digestive.
In his first appearance since 2001s Spy Game, Robert Redford – possibly the best actor of his generation yet to branch out into the cooking sauce business stars as high-flying corporate executive Wayne Hayes. One evening, when on his way home to wife Eileen (Helen Mirren), Wayne is kidnapped or, at least, grown-man-napped by gun-toting nerd Arnold Mack (Willem Dafoe). Before long, Arnold and Wayne are hiking endlessly through the woods on a bit of a male-bonding session, while Eileen desperately attempts to assist the FBI in their attempts to get her hubby back.
Dutch helmsman Pieter Jan Brugge has produced a number of success stories in his time (Heat, Bulworth, The Pelican Brief and The Insider have all carried his name) but this is the first time hes attempted plonking his botty in a directors chair, and if the end result is anything to go by then hes a prime example of a man who should be told not to give up his day job.
Whichever way you look at it, this entire film is completely pedestrian. Sure, the actings fine but I think were all entitled to expect a little better than fine from such big screen luminaries as Redford, Dafoe and Mirren. Sadly though, everyone involved just seems to be going through the motions, and the uninspired and largely uninteresting material theyre asked to work with only serves to put the final nail in the coffin.
With its confusing timeframe, soap-opera soundtrack, and an overall plot so formulaic it would make Einstein blush, everything about The Clearing just screams please, dont give me a big-screen release! I want to go straight to DVD! And with only extremely limited cinema time in the US and a direct trip to the Blockbuster shelves in the UK it pretty much gets its wish.